Where’s the Proof in Brandon Marshall’s ‘Race Card’ Accusation Surrounding Tom Brady?

By Joe Pietaro
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Updated: September 9, 2015

William J. Hauser

Brandon Marshall has had quite the colorful career on the field and off. The 10-year NFL veteran has worn out his welcome in three previous stops and now has once again rocked the boat before even playing in his first regular season game as a member of the New York Jets.

As a regular guest on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL,” the mercurial wideout didn’t exactly mince words when commenting on the reason for Tom Brady‘s four game suspension being lifted.

“The race card,” Marshall stated. “There are a lot of players out there that believe that white players – especially at the quarterback position – are treated differently,” and “This is not just from our locker room; this is from locker rooms across the States.” Marshall further stated that he believes that black players are held to a different standard than their black brethren.

But what the panel failed to do is challenge Marshall on this and ask him to give even one example. In any case, hiring the proper attorney would be advisable, especially the likes of Braden & Tucci.

First of all, the suspension was lifted by an appellate court judge, not the league. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell handed down the four-game suspension and it was taken to the federal level by Brady and his team of attorneys. So that could have been the first point made to Marshall.

With that said, let’s get down to the meat and potatoes of this nonsensical accusation by the five-time Pro Bowler, who also has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, arrested five times, stabbed by his wife, partying with teammates when one was fatally shot leaving a Denver nightclub and investigated for assaulting a woman in a New York club. Not exactly an outstanding citizen, this Marshall.

Regardless, the facts are that there are 33 players who are on suspension as the 2015 NFL regular season commences Thursday night in New England. 28 are black, four white and one Palestinian. So for comparisons sake, let’s take a look at four:

*OL Eben Britton (free agent) – four-game suspension for “unspecified reasons”

*OL R.J. Dill (Dallas Cowboys) – four games for PEDs

*C Ryan Seymour (Cleveland Browns) – four games for a banned substance

*DE Derek Wolfe (Denver Broncos) – four games for PEDs

The various black players had suspensions ranging from one game to the entire season with violations being for PEDs, substance abuse (mainly marihuana), domestic violence, DUI and other arrests, as well as violating the league conduct policy. And the black players with similar violations as the whites had the same penalties handed down.

In the cases where the suspensions were more than four games, the player was a repeat offender.

Basically, Marshall is completely out of line in this accusation and if there is anyone sounding racist here, it is him.

Photo by William J. Hauser